Breadvan Hommage

Breadvan Hommage

What is the Breadvan Hommage?

When a true admirer of an Italian brand reported to Niels van Roij Design with a special request to custom build a Breadvan Hommage, the design studio saw it as an honorable task to translate the iconic racing car into a car from the more recent past.

“We see it as a great privilege that we can honour the Breadvan through this Hommage commission,” says Van Roij. “It is a complex task to translate the essence of the legendary original into a contemporary design. We intend to be inspired by the original, but will ensure we are not limited by it in our creativity”.

Weekly updates

Because this coachbuilding commission includes a full re-body and major interior changes it is a unique opportunity for Niels van Roij Design to allow full insight into the entire development: from ideation process, exterior and interior design, to final coachbuilding of the aluminum Breadvan Hommage. The complete openness that we as car design studio will offer on a weekly basis is exceptional within automotive design.

For those who are interested it is a great opportunity to follow the creation of this one-off, step by step, through social media. Niels van Roij Design will report every Friday on the development and progress of the Breadvan Hommage.

Breadvan_update_078: car interior design

How to design an interior?

A few weeks ago we shared the first stages of the coachbuilt Breadvan Hommage interior changes. Our design boasts many new styling ideas. New materials and colours. Coachbuilder Bas van Roomen hand makes every sweeping line of the aluminium elements in the interior from flat sheets of aluminium. To achieve volumes out of a flat sheet, he can actually only do three things. He can stretch, shrink and bend the sheets. Bas does this manually as well as with machines. Constructing a new door panel is an important part of the car interior redesign. A aluminium unit is part of the new design. These door panels will be modern. Cleaned of visual clutter. The team will use a unique blend of materials. We will apply black leather and blue Alcantara.

Car interior design

To make the interior of a one-off car is to discuss. The metal work is a direct translation of our design renderings. We discuss how to translate the sketches into a car interior. How does the light react on the surface transitions of the aluminium? Which material or design feature can be made better? Inspired by interiors found in classic race cars, taken to a modern, non-retrospective level. The edge of the metal element looks strong because of the facet. The thinner opening within the panel will serve as a place to put ones hand for closing the door. A lightweight door pull strap is to be attached inside of this opening too. This race inspired element is functional and beautiful. The material will be left untouched. So, we deliberately want to show each mark the hammers left when Bas was working on the door panels.

Bespoke car interior

We collectively work in the best of automotive traditions. As this one-off motorcar is inspired by vintage racers, the team has a lot to live up to. Therefore, our Breadvan Hommage is the automotive equivalent of haute couture. The artisanship of the craftspeople will evident in every detail. This commissioned motorcar will boast a bespoke interior design in which materials match. Subsequently, this means everything will be hand-tailored. As mentioned, visual clutter will be removed. For instance, the lower door panel is stripped. The map pockets in the OEM panel are deleted. The grab handle on the door is also removed. This will be cleaning up the design as per the sketch. The most important parts of the door panel are now finished. It will still be a few weeks before all will be upholstered. Very exciting times ahead!

Breadvan_update_077: unique car design

Designing a one-off car

Our Breadvan Hommage design is currently in the workshop. So, after the body has been made perfect and ready for paint, the car now is worked on by mechanics. Therefore, this is a good time to look at the complete design makeover this V12 based motorcar has had. A selection of design renderings and before and after pictures show what we have done! We have a fascination for cars. We believe it is important to be well informed: designers should be familiar with their product. Our team has a passion for design, from understanding the holistic overview to the smallest little detail. For example, we love improving, iterating, researching and – the most important feature of our skill set – listening. Also the Breadvan Hommage project started with research. For instance, looking into the history of motorsports through archives.

How to design a car?

We are car design consultants and particularly interested in what a design can do to a human being. We have a broad interest, are curious and critical. Research is key to us and the starting point for everything we do. So, for the Breadvan Hommage we looked into the history of the original and many cars surrounding it. For instance: how to design a car? How to design a car that honours another car? What does a specific shape mean? Why have certain materials been used? We get to the bare essence: question the question. Our studio is in The Netherlands, our associates network is big and worldwide. We work closely with these specialists. Not only we need them to execute the design. We need their input on all levels. To make the design more relevant.

Bespoke car design

At Niels van Roij Design we work autonomous, but love to join forces. With these specialists and with our clients. We believe design is no veneer. Design is strategy: the strategy of seduction. In the images on this page the process our Breadvan Hommage design went through can be seen. The creative process is very unique. For many of our clients that is the most important reason of working with us. They are in the driving seat. We empower them to design their own dream car. From sketch to rendering, to clay model to finished body in four images. There is still a large amount of work to be done, but the most important steps have been executed! Follow the Breadvan Hommage project, and our other projects, on our social media pages:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nielsvanroijdesign/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nielsvanroijdesign/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NielsvanRoij
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5-FdU54Zwb3IZiOdRyD6TA

Breadvan_update_076: custom car interior

How to design a car interior?

Our coachbuilt Breadvan Hommage will feature big changes to the interior. Classic models inspire the design. Therefore, the design started with analysing these old race cars. There is a lot of character in these designs. In addition, we looked at trim and materials installed on those hand-made cars. Although classic sports cars were inspirational for this coachbuilt design, we do take many car design liberties. We push our car design project into the future. For instance, our design will boast many new styling ideas. New materials and colours. Coachbuilder Bas hand makes every sweeping line of the body from flat sheets of aluminium. To achieve volumes out of a flat sheet, he can actually only do three things. He can stretch, shrink and bend the sheets. Bas does this manually as well as with machines.

High-end car interior design

To make the curvaceous body of the Breadvan Hommage is to discuss. The work is based on our design renderings. We continuously debate on how to translate these into a real car. How does the light react on the surface transitions? Which design feature can be made even better? The coachbuilder, however, does not only work on the exterior. We proposed to take the world of hand-beating a car body also inside of our car design! Constructing a new door panel is an important part of the car interior redesign. A lightweight stripped unit will replace the OEM panel. So, these door panels will be modern. Cleaned of visual clutter. The team will use a unique blend of materials. We will apply black leather and blue Alcantara. The tape template on the photos was made based on the sketches and renderings.

Bespoke car interior

On the doorpanel, the tape lines are drawn. Outlining the centre piece design element. It is made by the coachbuilder out of aluminium. Inspired by interiors found in classic race cars. But taken to a modern, non-retrospective level. The heavy outer line is the edge of the metal element. The thinner inner line is the opening within this panel. A lightweight door pull strap is to be attached inside of this opening. This race tech inspired element is both functional and beautiful. The material will be left untouched. So, we deliberately want to show each mark the hammers left when Bas was working on the door panels. Therefore, this will make a very unique sculptural piece. This idea never before has been seen in the world of car design, as far as we know.